Voluntary abortion – or the termination of pregnancy as
it is euphemistically called in popular parlance – is a living denial of the
Incarnation.

Leaving aside those (very rare) ‘hard’ cases where the
mother’s life is at risk, most abortions are done for ‘social’ reasons –
another ‘politicism’ for ‘avoiding personal inconvenience’.

A small Pro-Life committee convened by the Dowager Lady
Salisbury has organized two events – the Choose Life Rally on Sunday, 10th
October, and the launch of the CD of Joseph Estorninho’s Requiem for the
Innocents on Thursday 23rd September.

The Choose Life Rally

On Sunday 10th October people of all faiths and none will
assemble near the Methodist Central Hall in Parliament Square for our Celebration
of Life.

The impact of the rally will depend on how many people
participate – and that is where readers of New Directions, who live in
the London-area, are critical. Our message is that every human life is a gift
from God, and by wantonly destroying it we are vandalising his handiwork.

To attract the maximum support we are making this a truly ‘popular’
event to appeal to everyone who is Pro-Life.

We begin outside Methodist Central Hall at 2.00pm and
then process down Millbank. Approaching Lambeth Bridge everyone will receive a
handful of petals to throw over the bridge into the Thames in memory of the
unborn.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has arranged for us to foregather
outside Lambeth Palace and for his representative to meet a small delegation
inside. Hundreds of helium logoed balloons will then be released into the air.

At Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park there will be music, singing
and dancing, besides stalls providing accurate information about what abortion
really entails. This isn’t always readily available from the organizations who
are most keen to offer their ‘advice’ to those seeking it!

At 3.00pm will be short speeches by representatives of Pro-Life
organizations, concluding at 4.00pm with a Christian Ecumenical Service led by
Richard Chartres, the Bishop of London.

The Launch of Requiem for the Innocents

Requiem for the Innocents is being launched at the Museum of
Garden History on September 23rd.

Composed by Joseph Estorninho, this fine Requiem was
inspired by his devotion to saving the lives of the unborn. Anna Johnstone, one
of the soloists on the CD, writes:

The Requiem is a very passionate piece of music about
reconciliation and redemption. The language of the Requiem is specifically
Christian and the underlying premise is that human life begins at conception.
Usually a Requiem is composed for a single person or for a group of people who
are united in the same way. The difference with this Requiem is that it speaks
to two distinct groups of people:

babies and foetuses who have either tragically died, or who have
been killed in abortion – The Innocents

their mothers and all those grieving their loss, and all those
responsible for the care and protection (including the collective conscience of
our Nations) of these Innocents; in the case of abortion this responsibility
having been abrogated.

Although the Requiem can be divided into these two voices, it is
for the listener to interact with the movements and these themes in their own
unique way. For example there is a part of every human heart that is profoundly
innocent, and it is possible to have cooperated with an abortion, whilst being
innocent or unknowing of the intent of killing a human life. This may be
especially true for women who have been pressurised into an abortion, or who
have planned an abortion without taking on board the humanity of their unborn
child. In Christian Theology, one of the last and most powerful words of Jesus
was, ‘Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.’

Art as a Defender of the Faith

Christians have used art from earliest times to safeguard the
integrity of the faith.

Religious pictures in churches, on canvas or in stained glass,
are designed not only to enhance their beauty but to teach people about the
Faith. Whether depicting the Incarnation, the Crucifixion, the Ascension, or
other biblical event, their purpose goes far beyond mere decoration.

So does poetry, especially hymns, which expound doctrines both
succinctly and memorably. When set to popular tunes hymns provide one of
orthodoxy’s strongest weapons against heresy.

Estorninho’s Requiem is also an example of art seeking
to influence attitudes where appeals to reason have fallen on deaf ears.

Estorninho, who graduated from Melbourne University, where he
studied under Felix Werder, says of his Requiem:

The idea of writing a Requiem is by its very nature and its
associations with the dead bound to seem quite a morbid task. On the surface it
is little more than a Mass for the dead, and so when I first thought of writing
a Requiem in January 2001 I was just a little curious as to how or why the idea
came to me. I nevertheless began work and within a week had sketched the Lacrimosa
and completed the Pie Jesu.

There are many requiems which have been written in commemoration
of the passing of friends or mentors. For example, we have Britten's War Requiem
commissioned for the reopening of Coventry Cathedral, which was so badly
devastated during the Second World War. But never before has a requiem been
written which mourns the passing of all innocent life and especially those taken
before birth.

The answer was simple. The answer was a question: ‘Why not
write a Requiem for the Unborn Dead?’ Within two weeks I had completed the
sketches. It was as though the work was there all the time and only needed a
reason to show itself.

A requiem mourns the passing of life and therefore recognizes
the existence of that life. Requiem for the Innocents in the same way
recognizes that a life has been lost and mourns its passing. More importantly,
it acknowledges that the life that was taken was indeed innocent. It is not by
accident that the title alludes to the biblical massacre of the innocents, which
depicts the slaughter of innocent children and babies for personal ambition.

Requiem for the Innocents is not just about mourning and
being pessimistic, however. Far from it, the profound sorrow at the loss of life
only balances the importance and sanctity to which life is inextricably
attached. Requiem for the Innocents is indeed a celebration of
life."

*****

So please enter Sunday October 10th in your diary and bring
others to this unambiguous demonstration to protect unborn children who stand in
immediate danger of death.

A leaflet about this event is enclosed with this issue of
New
Directions.

CDs of this Requiem are available from Cost of Conscience, 79
Maze Hill, London SE10 8XQ at Ł14.99 including p&p. Part of the profits
will help towards funding the Rally.